“The truth will set you free” is one of the more familiar quotes from the Bible. Even non-believers know it, and sometimes quote it without realizing that it was originally spoken by Jesus. Yet, many of us saying it without thinking about the context. As a result, we come away with only half of the message, or perhaps a completely incorrect message.

Jesus was speaking to a group of “Jews who had believed him.” Yet, the conversation rapidly deteriorated. Whereas they initially believed Him (verse 31), by the end of the conversation they questioned and challenged Him, then apparently made accusations about His parents’ marital status when He was conceived (John 8:41), accused Him of being a demon-possessed Samaritan (verse 48), and eventually started preparing to stone Him to death (verse 59). Within maybe only five minutes, they went from being almost ready to become disciples to trying to kill Him.

Such is the situation when sin is mentioned. Jesus Christ and His true followers reveal sin so that it can be confessed, leading to repentance and freedom. Yet, many people respond with hostility and hatred.

When Jesus said, “The truth will set you free,” his listeners responded, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33). I can almost picture Jesus staring back at them incredulously, saying, “Um, WHAT? Do you even hear what you’re saying?” The Jewish people were under foreign oppression by the Romans at that time. Their history, recorded in their Old Testament scriptures, was filled with repeated episodes of oppression and exile. A core element of their cultural identity was their deliverance from slavery in Egypt through Moses. For a first-century Jew to say “We have never been enslaved” would be as preposterous as an African-American (particularly, one whose family has been in America since before 1860) making the same claim.

Such is the neurosis of denial. When confronted about sin, we pretend we do not have a problem. We may say that it is not really a sin. Many people today would say that Jesus and the writers of the Bible really did not know what they were talking about; we know better. Science and Oprah have opened our eyes. Or, some people will claim that their circumstances justify an exception to the rules: “I know the Bible says we should not have sex before marriage, but our situation is different because….”

We might admit that it is sin, but not admit that it involves bondage. The Son of God
disagrees: He said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). The apostle Paul would later expand upon this thought by saying:

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:15–18).

Sin brings slavery. Many addicts have come to this awareness. They may have once thought they felt free by drinking alcohol, shooting up heroine, snorting cocaine, or getting whatever “fix” they desired. Eventually, though, as it became a life-controlling obsession, what once felt like freedom proved to be emotional and spiritual shackles, chaining them to a cycle of self-destruction. However, other kinds of sin bring similar bondage. Although many kinds of sin do not involve an obvious chemical dependency, they may become habitual, creating an emotional connection to the sin, and leading to destructive consequences. Even what we think are “little sins” involve some degree of bondage. The shackles may be looser, but they are still there.

Jesus tells us that the truth will set us free. This begins with confession. Many people
associate “confession” with a private booth, where you whisper your secrets to a priest, but that is only one aspect of the word. “Confess” merely translates a Greek word, “homologeo,” which could literally be translated as “say the same thing as” or “acknowledge.” It means to admit something is true. In the context of sin, confession involves admitting that something is a sin and that one is guilty of it. To find freedom, we must confess the truth.

We must confess the truth about ourselves. We must acknowledge our shortcomings, failings, weaknesses, and needs. We have to admit that there is some kind of chain holding us back. We must admit that we need something. In confession, we acknowledge that we have sinned and we stop looking for other people to blame. The Book of Common Prayer contains a prayer of confession that begins like this (as I recall, the Roman Catholic liturgy has a very similar prayer):

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We admit that we have sinned: not that it is someone else’s fault, or “the devil made me do it,” or I am a victim of other people’s plots. Even though all of us have fallen victim to others at some time, there are ways that we have sinned. We need forgiveness. We need freedom. We tighten our own chains when we keep pointing at others’ mistakes while ignoring our own.

But, we cannot stop by confessing our sins. That is a beginning, but if it is all we do, it will lead to despair. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. However, it goes on to tell us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). We must confess the truth about Jesus. Jesus’ listeners in John 8 had a hard time accepting that one. They could not accept the notion that He could possibly be greater than their ancestor, Abraham. How could they take the leap to believe that He is the Son of God. Yet, this is essential. We must believe that Jesus is God incarnate. We must believe that through His death on the cross, we have received forgiveness of our sins. We must believe that He is holy, righteous, merciful, and gracious. We must believe that He is love. When we believe these truths, we are free to break free from our chains and run to Him for forgiveness, freedom, and life.

Likewise, we must believe the truth about God and His Word. We must believe that God’s Word is true and that it shows us the way to live in a way that pleases Him.

Finally, we must abide in that truth. We do not use the word “abide” very often nowadays, but it is the basis of our word “abode.” We must live in Jesus’ Word, staying there. To experience freedom and abide in that freedom, we should read and study Jesus’ teachings, meditate upon the Word of God, being doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).

This is the foundation of freedom. We must admit that we are sinners, accepting the fact that it brings spiritual slavery. However, having admitted that truth, we should acknowledge the truth about Jesus, His Father, and His Word, trusting in Christ’s forgiveness and building our new lives on His Word. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). If you are in bondage, seek freedom in Christ today. If you have found His forgiveness and freedom, continue to walk in it.

“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” (Matthew 12:43–45, NASB)

Those in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction may understand this passage very well, along with others who have fought the battle against life-controlling issues. “Out with the old” is not enough: We have to welcome the new things God has for us.

It is important to take note of the context of this passage. Jesus has been answering His critics, who claim that His signs and wonders (including casting demons out of people) prove that He is controlled by Satan (Matthew 12:24). Jesus answers them with several points: one of those is that, to plunder an opponent and take his possessions, you first have to bind him (v. 29). First, you bind the strong man. Then, you can plunder his house and take what he possesses. Likewise, you first must bind the demon (bring him under your control, disarm him, and bring him into your subjection); then, you can claim the person he has controlled.

This particular passage (Matthew 12:29) provides the background for verses 43–45. The demon has been cast out of the person whom he had claimed as his home. Now evicted, he wanders aimlessly. Life must really stink if you are a demon who cannot tempt, possess, or oppress someone. If you’re a demon, you make life miserable for humans and try to deter the work of God in their lives; it’s what you do.

The demon has been cast out of the man, but nothing else has been done. The man had Satan in his life. Now, he has just a vacant hole in his heart. However, the soul, like nature, abhors a vacuum. It cannot remain empty for long; something will eventually fill the hole.

So, since nothing has replaced the demon’s place in the man’s life, the demon returns with a whole group of his buddies. To make sure he does not get kicked out again, he brings reinforcements.

How does this play out in everyday life? The New Testament ascribes many forms of suffering to the work of demons: physical illness or handicaps, emotional turmoil (what we now almost exclusively attribute to mental illness and treat with medication and counseling), etc. Just for the record, I believe in many cases demons may find a weak spot in our makeup and capitalize on it; therefore, in some cases, physical or mental illness can have a natural or biological cause which has been manipulated by a demon into some kind of manifestation.

Today, many addicts will refer to the “demon in the bottle” (or whatever other container delivers their life-controlling chemical). The demon does not live inside the bottle, but it is manipulating their minds, emotions, thoughts, perspective, and choices. Those who seek deliverance cannot simply throw out the bottle, bag of weed, cigarette packages, magazines, etc. That demon must flee! Once he flees, you need immediate opposing occupation! To grab hold of lasting deliverance demands replacement: out with the old and evil, in with the new and holy.

The recovering addict may start attending nightly meetings, to avoid stopping off at the bar to unwind. Twelve Step programs urge their members to add prayer, meditation, and service to others into their lives; this can provide a sense of purpose which enables them to resist and avoid temptation.

However, this lesson is not for the addict alone. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); all Christians are in recovery from a life of sin. However, we cannot just stop by fighting off the demon. We need to invite the Holy Spirit to possess that hole in our soul. When tempted, we need to turn to the resources God has for us: when Satan offers illicit sex, drugs, hatred, or any of his other garbage, we need to grab hold of what God wants us to receive. Prayer, Bible study, worship and fellowship should be the foundation of the believer’s life.

Cleaning out the garbage of our past, leaving a vacuum/hole in our soul, and not filling that hole with the things of God is a recipe for spiritual disaster.